The Dream of Faith
by IolantaStar
Summary: A simple bed time story told to Hotaru could lead to a revelation of Setsuna's past.


The Dream of Faith (PG) by IolantaStar  
E-mail: IolantaStar@sailororion.com  
Disclaimers:  
Hi, minna. This is my first fanfic so don't be too hard on me. I rated it PG even though it could just as well be rated G because some people don't like the idea of death so when one of the main characters dies, it might be hard on them. But on the other hand I'm proud to say that I didn't kill any of Sailor Moon characters. As you might have already guessed, I'm not Naoko Takeuchi, and therefore I do not own Sailor Moon and all the other Sailor Scouts. I used them here without anyone's permission but it's OK since I don't really have a profit from this fanfic except maybe an "A" in my Advanced English class. Nenriki, Kashoku and Mikomi, however, are my original characters but if you like them, you are free to take them and use in your own story as long as you inform me about it first. By the way, the story, at least the Sailor Senshi part of it, takes place somewhere during the Stars season so Hotaru is still a small girl. Well, I think it's all for the disclaimers. Now on to the story. Ja ne.  
The Dream Of Faith.  
"I don't want to go to bed," cried Hotaru jumping around the room in her lavender pajamas.  
"You have to, Hime-chan," Setsuna insisted.  
"It's already 9 o'clock," Michiru noticed. "Time for little girls to go to bed."  
Finally Haruka caught Hotaru by the waist. The little girl was still screaming. "Hime-chan, why are you so stubborn?" the wind senshi inquired.  
Hotaru stopped yelling for a second and looked up at Haruka's face. "Haruka-papa, I just don't want you to turn off my lamps. They don't like it that way. They want to bring light, and the night is just too dark for them. They are scared."  
"Ara, Hime-chan," Michiru said. "They won't be scared while they are sleeping. You'll see, just go to bed and close your eyes. All of your lamps will fall asleep when you will."  
"You simply don't understand," Hotaru insisted struggling in Haruka's strong embrace to turn her head in the sea soldier's direction. "Michiru-mama, the lamps are just like Setsuna-mama. They sleep very rarely."  
"Firstable, I do sleep," Setsuna gave the giggling Haruka and Michiru a wicked glance. "And secondable, what do you think would make your lamps fall asleep, Hime-chan?"  
"Oh, how about one of your wonderful stories, Setsuna-mama?"  
"Ah, no, Hime-chan. I already told you all the stories that I know. But it just might be that your Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama would simply love to tell you one. They have been very talkative today," Setsuna's garnet eyes were glowing with revenge.  
"Setsuna-chan, look at the time," Haruka pretended to look at her watch and therefore let Hotaru go. "It's already 9 o'clock. It's so late. Time for Michi and me to go to bed."  
"Whatever will you be doing there?" Setsuna inquired in saccharine voice.  
"What do you mean, Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked.  
Setsuna had such an embarrassed expression on her face that Michiru knew right that instant that she'd better take over. "Never mind, Hime-chan," she said. "Your Setsuna-mama was simply joking."  
"I just don't understand adults," Hotaru muttered under her breath. Then she continued louder. "But anyway, I want... I mean, the lamps want to hear Setsuna-mama's stories and nobody else's."  
"Did you hear that, Setsuna-mama?" Haruka inquired. Now it was her turn to speak with saccharine voice. "I guess Michi and I should just leave, or else we might disturb the lamps." Then Haruka turned to Hotaru who already got underneath the covers and was now waiting for the story. "Good night, Hime-chan. Have a nice dream."  
"Good night, Haruka-papa. Good night, Michiru-mama."  
"Sweet dreams, Hime-chan," Michiru wished to her "daughter" kissing her on the forehead.  
Soldiers of the sea and the wind left the room and carefully closed the door behind themselves.  
"Well, Hime-chan," Setsuna turned to face Hotaru. "I guess, I'd better start." The Guardian of Time sat down on the edge of the child-sized bed, which squeaked furiously having no intention of holding one more person. Setsuna looked into the little girl's deep violet eyes and smiled sweetly. "You know what? I just thought that if we knew how loud you are several months ago, we would've never suspected you in being the Messiah of Silence."  
"I don't like thinking about Mistress 9," Hotaru said her violet eyes suddenly becoming very adult. "She was evil, and it felt just awful knowing that somebody else controls your body for such a terrible purpose. I'm glad that she was destroyed." Then Hotaru returned back to being an ordinary 5-years-old girl. "So, what about the story, Setsuna-mama?"  
The Guardian of Time was silent for a minute. Then she sighed and began the story while the little girl in the bed and Setsuna's two best friends behind the closed door prepared to listen. "Well, it goes like this..."  
  
____________________________________  
She could never really blend in with other people in the village. Loneliness was always her guide. She had some people, who she had fun with, in the village but they were hardly her friends for they didn't know the first thing about how different she was from all of them. She didn't have any relatives and didn't even know who they were. Among the people of that small village she was like the bright moon surrounded by pale stars. Her name was Nenriki.  
There was someone who understood her, though. It was a black talking raven, Kashoku. He wasn't moody like most other ravens. Kashoku was always full of life and love for the endless skies. That love, that incredible attraction to the heavens was something that Nenriki, too, felt.  
The sun shone bright, and the dew on the grass caught the sunlight and reflected it for the rest of the world from it's drops as bright as diamonds. Nenriki had no idea of how fateful that day would be for her. The girls in the village agreed to gather strawberries on the hill that afternoon, and, of course, Kashoku couldn't miss such a social event. Everybody was having fun, laughing and smiling.  
Suddenly a dark object appeared from nowhere in the skies and began to fall. It crashed into the hillside, and everybody saw that it was a girl who looked just like Nenriki with her long black hair and unusual red eyes. The only difference between the two were gorgeous black wings on the girl's back that were now stained with blood.  
The newcomer saw Nenriki and smiled weakly, "I guess, the spirits of the castle always know what they are doing. You're Nenriki-chan, aren't you?" Nenriki nodded. "My name is... or rather was Mikomi. I'm your twin sister. You and I, we're different from all the rest of the people for the Destiny chose us to be the guardians of the Castle of Dreams. I'm so sorry that I'm leaving you alone with this the most horrible of all duties but I'm dying and I can do nothing about it."  
"What is so horrible about guarding some castle?" Nenriki asked.  
"You see, the one guarding the dreams, that live in that castle, the dreams of the people of the whole world, should sacrifice the most precious of her own dreams", Mikomi answered.  
"But I'll get the wings, won't I?"  
"Yes, you will."  
"Well, then I don't have anything to worry about for there's nothing I want more in this world than to have wings."  
Mikomi's smile was now full of sorrow. She wanted to say something but couldn't for her eyes closed as the death took her into the world of darkness.  
So Nenriki left the village and moved to the Castle of Dreams. Her faithful Kashoku was with her as always when he wasn't flying in the skies, that is, and Nenriki did get her beautiful black wings. But was she happy? Not for a moment!  
One day Nenriki was sitting on her bed and looking at the dark forest, that surrounded the castle. Kashoku flew into the open window and noticed the sad expression on his friend's face.  
"What's wrong, Nenriki-chan?" he asked. "You haven't been yourself lately."  
"It's this castle. I was so stupid. How could I even think that I can outsmart the great spirits of the Castle of Dreams? They and only they knew what my real dream was. And now those spirits took it away forever. Kashoku-kun, do you have any idea how terrible it is to feel the wings on your back and not to be free to reach the azure skies? These ancient walls took away my freedom and my soul."  
"It's not so bad. If you want, I can stay locked in here with you. I'm sure, the spirits wouldn't mind."  
"I could never make you suffer like that, my friend. The sky is what you live for."  
"But you, too, love it very much," Kashoku protested. "You can't just go on living like this."  
"And I'm not going to. Kashoku-kun, let's run away," she whispered for in that castle even the walls had spirits. "I need to leave all of this behind. I want to fly. Please, say you'll help me."  
"I'll help you but I don't think it's such a good idea to..."  
"My friend, what would you do without the skies?" Nenriki interrupted the raven.  
Kashoku thought for a moment and then answered, "I would die."  
That evening the two of them quietly left the castle. It seemed amazing how easy it was to escape, and yet the wind itself blew harder then usual trying to stop them, trying to warn them...The skies turned black even though the nighttime was yet to come, and somewhere behind thousands of trees, that surrounded the castle, Nenriki heard a loud crush of thunder.  
"It seems that the spirits are after us already," whispered the guardian of dreams.  
Her friend simply nodded. The first drop of rain fell on Nenriki's hand, and she started to run with Kashoku trying desperately to catch up to her. She ran through the forest away from the castle, away from the nightmare that was her life there. Drops of the rain now fell down constantly, and each single one of them burned her skin with it's coldness. The trees seemed full of spirits that turning the branches into the claws tried to get Nenriki. She ran as quickly as she could for at any moment the ghosts of the castle, it's very soul, could catch up to her.  
The thunder lit heaven and crushed the branch behind Nenriki. The guardian of dreams just continued running until she heard a cry of pain. Nenriki turned around and saw that the branch fell right on top of Kashoku, who now lay on the ground motionless.  
Nenriki rushed to her friend. Saving him was now the only thought piercing through her brain. The lightning crashed in a meter from her. Nenriki didn't even look in it's direction. Another lightning hit an old oak and it's branches fell down hurting Nenriki with their sharp edges. Her dress was now quickly turning a brilliant red color of blood. The lightning bolts crashed all around Nenriki. It seemed like she was at the very eye of the storm. With each step it was getting harder and harder for Nenriki to move. She was just two meters away from Kashoku when one more lightning crashed right behind her making her lose her balance.  
"That's it," Nenriki thought. "I can't move any more." The guardian of dreams looked at Kashoku. "But I have to get up. I have to save my best friend... my only friend."  
And Nenriki slowly stood up. Each movement caused her incredible pain but she locked all of her feelings in the furthermost corner of her mind. One more step, and Nenriki fell to her knees near the body of her friend. Kashoku was still breathing but as she moved away the branch, that hit him, the guardian of dreams saw a deep wound on his wing.  
"If I don't do something quickly, Kashoku-kun is going to bleed to death," Nenriki thought. "But what can I do? The only way to save Kashoku-kun is to take him back to the castle. But if I do that, the spirits won't let me leave again. I will be their prisoner forever. Guarding the castle and living within it's walls... I can't even imagine anything worse. But what about Kashoku-kun? He, too, has dreams. Everybody does. I'm the guardian of dreams. I can't just let him die. Kashoku-kun is my friend. Do I have any right to sacrifice his dream for mine?" Nenriki looked at the bleeding wing of her friend and the helpless expression on his face. "I guess, no," she answered her own question.  
Nenriki picked up the raven's small body and flew into the air. From this far above she could see the Castle of Dreams and knew exactly where to go. The storm seemed to calm down. The last drops of rain met the ground, and the rainbow was already marking it's way to the skies. Suddenly the last lightning appeared out of nowhere hitting Nenriki in the back right between her black wings. The guardian of dreams cried out and the consciousness left her.  
Nenriki opened her eyes and found herself on the castle floor. Kashoku was sitting next to her with not even a scratch on his wings. He had a very puzzled expression on his face.  
"What happened?" Nenriki asked.  
"I don't know. The last thing I remember is being hit by a branch back in the forest. I thought I would die. But now I find myself here, and I don't feel hurt at all."  
Nenriki smiled, "The spirits. They guided us home. Ironic, isn't it? We were running from our only hope for survival."  
"We can try to escape again once your wound heals."  
"No, we can't. Listen to me, Kashoku-kun. I'm dying. There's nothing you or me or even the spirits of this castle can do about it."  
"No, I won't let you die!" cried Kashoku. "You're my best friend. You saved my life. You don't deserve to die!"  
"Kashoku-kun, we all die sooner or later. And I deserve what I get. My name is Nenriki which means "faith". I should have had faith in my destiny. My duty was to protect the dreams of all people, but I tried to betray that duty by escaping from it. I proved myself to be a bad guardian. But, Kashoku-kun, my death isn't meaningless. I die so that a new light, a new guardian can come to this castle. If only it could be someone who I know and love...Farewell, my friend."  
And life left Nenriki's bright red eyes as it escaped from her body. Kashoku stood on the gray stone floor of the ancient Castle of Dreams. The tears shone in his almost human black eyes as the spirits lifted the body of his dead friend, and her soul flew into the skies to be free at last.  
"I won't let your last dream die with you, Nenriki-chan. You always had faith in me, faith that you didn't have in yourself. It will help me to become a guardian of dreams. Remember, I told you this morning, which now seems eternity ago, that I would die without the skies? Well, I won't. I will live for you."  
  
______________________________________  
The story ended, and Setsuna opened her garnet eyes. She saw that Hotaru was almost asleep. The little girl managed to mutter, "Good night, Setsuna-mama." Then her eyes closed and she fell into the world of dreams.  
"Good night, Hime-chan," Setsuna whispered, kissed the little girl on the forehead and quietly left the room after turning all of the small lamps off.  
Outside she stopped when she saw that Haruka and Michiru were standing there together. The violinist had tears in her eyes and such a sad and understanding expression on her face that Setsuna felt her own soul tearing to pieces for a millionth time in her long life. The unusual gentleness filled Haruka's gray eyes. This wasn't just another soap opera she could make fun of. This time the matter concerned someone, who was like a sister to her, her best friend in the whole world."  
"It's so sad," Michiru muttered suppressing her own sobs.  
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Haruka asked with the unconditional understanding, which was the last thing the Guardian of Time expected to hear from the tomboyish soldier, in her voice.  
"Whatever are you talking about?" Setsuna tried to put an expression of calmness on her face but her garnet eyes betrayed her glinting brightly in the dim light of the hallway with crystal tears.  
"Mikomi and Nenriki, "hope" and "faith"," Michiru mused quietly. They had a third sister, didn't they? Meioh Setsuna, "king of momentary death."  
"We are here for you, Setsuna-chan. Always," Haruka said.  
Setsuna realized that it was useless to deny the truth. "Thank you," was all she said.  
"So it is true, then. You do still guard the Castle of Dreams in Elysion," Haruka mused.  
"Yes, I guard the Gates of Time and Dreams since all dreams are a part of the future, past and present. The entire time continuum lies in one ancient stone castle, where Kashoku still lives grieving for his best friend. Where do you think most of the portals behind the Gates lead to?" Setsuna smiled sadly.  
"Tell us the truth," Michiru asked even though she wasn't really sure whether or not she actually wanted the answer to her question. "What was your greatest dream? What is it that you had to give up?"  
Setsuna's garnet eyes met Michiru's aquamarine ones. The Guardian of Time and Dreams felt such an understanding radiating from her two best friends, that she simply couldn't refuse to answer their question. Setsuna looked at one of Michiru's paintings hanging on the wall. It was a picture of light wind kissing the soft waves of aquamarine ocean, and above them, in cloudless azure sky, the sea gulls danced their farewell dance to the setting sun. The painting seemed to calm Setsuna down a bit. Now she could at least trust her own voice. "I dreamed..." Setsuna whispered. "I dreamed to be loved."  
The silence filled the hallway. Nobody dared to speak a word. Not that they knew what to say after such a revelation.  
Finally Haruka broke the uneasy silence. "We love you, Setsuna-chan. All three of us," she said putting as much tenderness as she could into this phrase.  
Setsuna met her friend's gray eyes with her own garnet ones and smiled sadly. "I know. And I love you, too. The two of you are my best friends; no, more like sisters. And Hotaru-chan is almost a daughter to me. But you should understand better than anyone else in the world that it just isn't enough."  
Setsuna felt a sudden urge to get away, to be left alone, in peace. This conversation was hard for her, and it already took most of her strength. She quickly opened the door, that led to her bedroom, and disappeared behind it.  
Haruka and Michiru stood silent for some time. Then Haruka leaned forward and kissed the top of the head framed by wavy aquamarine hair. "I could never live without you, Love," she whispered. Michiru turned her tear-streaming face to her partner and passionately kissed her on the lips.  
Behind the heavy wooden door Setsuna sighed. She ran her slender fingers over the photo of a dark-haired young man with a red rose in his hand. "But I can," she whispered pressing her finger to the picture's lips. "But I can," she repeated into the total darkness of the room, and the garnet eyes finally let the stream of brilliant tears flow to the lonely soldier's cheeks.  



End file.
